I Can't Do This Anymore
by Alixinsanity
Summary: When Dan returns from his university lecture in tears, Phil comforts him.


Phil frowned into his pillow as he heard the front door of the flat slam closed; a quick glance at the time on his phone told him that it was too early for Dan to be returning from his lecture. The younger man had stayed the night and had promised in between soft kisses to return to Phil's flat after his lectures. Phil frowned as he pushed himself into a seated position, his frown deepening as he heard the door to the living room being slammed closed. Grabbing his glasses, the older man quickly jumped out of bed as he heard the soft sobs echoing from the other room. Phil knew the sound of Dan crying, having heard it numerous times over the two years that they had known each other. Slowly walking towards the room, Phil hesitated slightly at the door, before gently pushing it open.

Dan had been holding back the tears for the majority of the walk back from Manchester University; choosing to walk through the crowds rather than face the possibility of crying on the bus. The flood barriers broke as soon as he stepped into the reception area of the apartment building, and by the time he reached the right floor, he was sobbing uncontrollably. Making his way into Phil's flat, the younger man immediately headed towards the living room; not wanting to disturb the older man by going into the bedroom. Collapsing down onto the sofa, Dan instantly curled into a foetal position, his cries only marginally quietened as he buried his head into his knees.

He had left his lecture after only ten minutes of sitting in the room; he had simply grabbed his phone from where it lay on the tiny desk in front of him and walked out. Dan knew that he was going to get in shit with the lecturer, and he wouldn't doubt that there was already an angry email in his uni inbox. But he had sat for those ten minutes, staring blankly at the powerpoint in front of him and watching as students all around him put their hands up to ask and answer questions. He felt like he was the only person in the room, who didn't understand what the lecturer was going on about, and with that Dan finally admitted to himself that he in truth hadn't understood most of the stuff he had been taught over the year; he then began to panic. His exams were only a few weeks away, and he had only just realized that he didn't understand half of the shit he needed to know. He needed Phil.

Dan's sobs became louder as he began mentally panicking, listing all the sub-topics that he didn't understand. The tears falling faster as he questioned why he was even studying law; it was more than just not understanding it, he hated it, he hated thinking that he was going to spend his life stuck in an office doing a job that he hated doing.

Too focused on the thoughts running through his head, Dan jumped slightly when he felt a hand rest against his knee. Pulling his head away from his knees, moving slightly out of the foetal position, the younger man looked through his tears up at the man in front of him. Uncurling his arms from where they were wrapped around his knees, Dan launched himself into Phil as he began to sob against the older man's chest. Phil instantly began to run a hand through the younger man's hair; a trick he had learnt in the first few months of their relationship, playing with Dan's hair instantly calmed him down if he was upset or angry. They stayed in the awkward position of Dan clutching onto the half-crouching Phil, before the older man slowly eased himself onto the sofa next to the brunette; Dan stayed attached throughout, only shifting slightly so that his head rested in the older man's lap.

"I don't know why I'm still bothering with uni! I can't do it." Dan sobbed slightly into the fabric of Phil's pyjama bottoms.

"You can do it Dan, trust me. I'm the one who proof reads your work, remember." Phil joked slightly trying to gain the smallest of smiles from the distressed man in his lap. The older man felt the brunette give out a soft chuckle that merged with a hiccup, before Dan tightened his hold around Phil, as he breathed in the familiar safe scent of his boyfriend. Phil smiled down at the younger man in his lap, letting one hand slide down to rest on Dan's hip as he promised, "I'll help you study every day for your exams, and you'll be fine bear."

Nodding softly in agreement, Dan murmured into Phil's clothed thigh, "Love you."

"I love you too."

**_Notes:_**

* * *

Literally everyone needs a Phil for comfort at some point during uni.

* * *

And everyone has a Dan moment filled with tears and shouting that you want to quit.


End file.
